Archive for the ‘Anti-Fungal Treatments’ Category

The LightPod Forte™ has set a new standard for the treatment of Onychomycosis with greater than 90% clearance after 2-3 treatments.

In an analysis of 26 published clinical studies involving oral therapies, a complete cure was achieved in only 25 – 59% of patients receiving standard courses of therapy. Recurrences occur in 10 – 53% patients.

A survey of over 120 podiatry offices in Florida and Georgia demonstrated that laser treatment fees for Onychomycosis range from $799 to $1295 for treating all toes on both feet. Adding the laser treatment for toenail fungus to any podiatric practice becomes a must as the patients awareness of the available laser treatment continues to grow.

The Podiatrist in the News Part 2 – PM News 4-13- 2012 highlights Dr. Kevin Gavin and attributes the following quotes regarding onychomycosis therapy to him: “Topical medications require application twice daily and work less than half of the time. Oral medications can be toxic to the liver and are no more effective.” Really?

Oral medications are no more effective than topicals? The article continues with this quote: “The Nd-YAG Laser at the Foot & Ankle Institute requires no anesthetic, no medications, and has proven itself to be 90% effective in eradicating toenail fungus for many patients in my practice over the last year.” WOW! 90% effective for MANY patients? Does anyone know what that means?

How often do you think I get a question, “Will bleach work for my toenail fungus?” Very often. More often than I’d like it to be.

A quick search on Google will uncover many stories about people treating themselves with bleach and miraculously getting rid of fungus within a week. A typical Toenail Rot Cure recipe would include dipping toes into undiluted bleach for 5 minutes 2-3 times a day for a week or so. Done and over with and no recurrence. Ever!

I’m happy for those who have been cured. Most likely these people (if the story is true to start with) did not suffer from nail fungus (onychomycosis). Bleach just whitened the nail, which could have been discolored for a hundred reasons – other than toenail fungus.

Any nail treatment that actually kills fungus relies on a new nail growing in and replacing the old, infected nail. Provided that the fungal spores and all dermatophyte activity has been eradicated and risks of reinfection from the patient’s immediate environment has been removed the new nail will completely grow our in 10-14 months.

On the other hand, I’ve had quite a few people come into my office with open sores caused by chemical burns on the skin from using undiluted beach that take weeks to months to heal when applied for nail fungus. The risk of all kinds of infections is very high for the people with these sores. I am strongly against the use of any chemicals on the skin, but bleach is arguably the most dangerous one.

The Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association has selected for publication an article detailing the recently completed second clinical study involving the SteriShoe® ultraviolet shoe sanitizer.

The fact that shoes harbor microorganisms has been well established; the journal article cites three previously published studies to this effect. For this study, Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum designed a repeatable way to culture shoes and then successfully tested the ability of the SteriShoe ultraviolet shoe sanitizer to decontaminate the shoe.

The study, which involved scraping material from the shoe, showed that the SteriShoe sanitizer destroyed, on average, over 80% of the microorganisms in the shoes. Dr. Ghannoum states “these finding have implications regarding breaking the foot infection cycle.”

Wow! Internet is a wonderful thing. Just got a big laugh out of it: beer soak as a homeopathic remedy for nail fungus. Wow!

I have to give these guys a credit for publishing (quite seriously) the most ridiculous treatment method to get rid of a fungal infection.

The article starts out with the standard paragraph about ugly nails and then goes on to an intriguing solution kick-off: “So if you don’t wish to take a prescription medication as recommended by a doctor, what do you do? Fortunately there is another option for folks who prefer the homeopathic approach to medicine.”

The author claims that combining a stout beer (Guiness is the best, of course) with white vinegar and acidophilus you can create a magical medicinal soak right in the comfort of your home!

This is just a quick comment to Oils? For Fungus or Salad? published recently by By Mark Leitner, DPM (Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists / Nail’n'Toe provider in Brandon, FL).

I recently stumbled upon an online article on Fox News where Chris Kilham, the Medicine Hunter and Fox News contributor, talks about plant-based cures available to treat health problems, including toenail fungus.

To treat toenail fungus, Kilham absolutely “swears by tamanu oil, or Calophyllum inophyllum, a tropical nut oil from the Pacific Islands. The anti-fungal properties of the oil have been well-documented in previous studies.”

“Toenail fungus responds rather brilliantly to tamanu oil,” Kilham said. “If you put the oil on the nail, it will get rid of the fungus.”

I wonder how many people actually ran to their local natural foods stores our their computers to learn more about the healing powers of this mysterious plant.

A quick research of the more reputable sources revealed that all parts of the plant ( bark, leaves, seeds) have been used medically as antiseptics, astringents, expectorants, diuretics, and purgatives. The oil possesses some antimicrobial and antiviral activity. Apparently cosmetic industry in Europe likes to add some of this oil into skin care products, such as creams and moisturizers.

Long story short: don’t get any illusions. Tamanu oil may help moisturize the skin on Athlete’s foot, but it’s unlike to cure even a mild case of toenail fungus – the fungal infection residing in the nail bed, the skin UNDER the nail plate. Onychomycosis is a disease that requires medical treatment.

Now, prevention is a different story. Tamanu oil may certainly be added to your preventive regimen – if you have the time and patience to use it daily.

Researchers at the Institute for Diabetic Foot Research in New York, studied 49 type II diabetics with distal subungual onychomycosis (DSO – the most common type of toenail fungus). The patients were treated with ciclopirox 8% topical laquer (Penlac®) once daily for 48 weeks.

Results: At the end of the study 63% of the patients achieved clinical improvement, 86% of patients had mycologic improvement and 54% attained a mycologic cure. No serious adverse advents were observed during the trial period.

Summary: This study concludes that Penlac® is a safe and effective treatment for diabetics with mild to moderate toenail fungus. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is something that may help as part of the anti-fungal therapy – colloidal silver. Known for many useful properties silver has been used as a home remedy for centuries. It’s not a cheap solution but it may add to the standard Nail’n'Toe treatment protocol, i.e. in between the treatment sessions in doctor’s offices. We have not found any decent studies on it but stumbled upon some anecdotal evidence.

When it comes to toenail fungus treatment options there is nothing more amusing than listening to a new patient telling me about his/her experience in using yet another oil to treat onychomycosis. Tea tree oil is the ultimate leader. But how about olive oil, oregano oil, peppermint oil, almond oil, lemongrass essential oil? Here is a new one: jojobo oil for home therapy of nail fungus!

According to the nail fungus gurus publishing tons of sketchy articles on the Internet, the cure is simple and miraculous: put some oil of your choice into a foot bath with warm water and soak your feet for 10-15 minutes – just 5-6 times a day at your convenience and for about 6-9 months. Rub the nail with some hydrogen peroxide or alcohol each time. Occasionally sprinkle your nails with some apple cider vinegar and you are sure to be healed. Forever.

Frankly, I can’t imagine anyone taking a 20 minute break from work for a toenail fungus spa treatment 3 times a day during the work hours. But according to some of the rave reviews it works. Does it? Read the rest of this entry »

The SteriShoe® ultraviolet shoe sanitizer is the world’s first product to safely and effectively sanitize the inside of your shoes. No chemicals that may damage your shoes! By using germicidal ultraviolet light (“UVC”), the shoe sanitizer kills microorganisms that cause athlete’s foot, nail fungus, and shoe odor.

Sold in pairs so you can treat a pair of shoes with each application. The treatment takes about 45 minutes. The germicidal lamp automatically turns off and the shoe sanitizer supports the shape of your shoes like a shoe tree.

Sweat from feet (each foot sweats up to 8 oz. per day) causes shoes to become breeding grounds for the fungus and bacteria that cause toenail fungus, athlete’s foot, and odor. Treatment of toenail fungus cannot be effective if you do not sanitize your shoes. In fact, you can easily get re-infected by the residual fungi in your own shoes!